Producer cooperation can provide an answer to the problems of agriculture

By: STA Date: 2023. 10. 26. 10:00

(Photo: AM/István Fekete)

István Nagy said at the Autumn Harvest Professional Day organized by DélKerTÉSZ, the country’s largest producer and sales cooperative, “we found the solution, not in textbooks, but in reality”. Protection, security, profitability and competitiveness can be found in producer cooperation and integration. Mentioning the difficulties of waterfowl and pig breeding or fruit growing, the minister stated that it is high time for the sectors to learn and follow the example that integration and producer cooperation can dominate the market and achieve the desired profit. “This ensures the existence of Hungarian agriculture in the 21st century, our food self-determination, the preservation of the countryside, and the strengthening of the local economy,” the politician emphasized. According to István Nagy, it should be strongly considered that those who are part of an integration or producer cooperation can get tender benefits. “We can protect the market and provide security of supply if we have a predictable production structure behind us. Without this, there is no way to influence the market,” he said. Discussions are ongoing in the Ministry of Agriculture on how to provide additional opportunities to those who are part of a production cooperation or integration, because they are the ones who are able to ensure predictability and the basis of production, the head of the ministry said.

The politician stated that the Hungarian government acts in the interests of farmers who show integrity even in difficult circumstances, and gives them all the tools to adapt

For the resources of the EU budget cycle until 2027, Hungary provides an unprecedented level of 80 percent of national additional financing. Thanks to this, a large-scale investment program was launched in 2021 and 2022, the transition years of the Common Agricultural Policy. Since 2021, more than 11,000 applications have received support exceeding HUF 1,455 billion. He said that HUF 1,500 billion are still available in the coming years for agricultural and food industry developments. The horticultures received help for the construction of greenhouses, foil houses, and cold stores, for the purchase of machines and post-harvest technologies, and for the planting of plantations. 7,000 winning applicants can spend almost HUF 190 billion, among other things, for the construction of 800,000 square meters of new greenhouses, 465,000 square meters of new foil-covered greenhouses, and 452,000 cubic meters of new cold storage, the minister announced.

MTI